In 1997, filmmaker Modesta Žemgulytė’s family illegally emigrated to Naples, Florida, in search of a better life. Using home video footage from 1997–1999, the film traces their everyday struggles, hopes, and the fragile promise of the American dream.

As Modesta’s mother pushes herself through years of exhausting labor, she eventually suffers a psychotic episode, forcing the family to return to Lithuania, where she is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Their pursuit of a better life leaves a lasting psychological rupture.

Decades later, approaching the age her mother was then, Modesta revisits this past through archival material and present-day conversations, searching for understanding and reconciliation.

Genre: Documentary
Stage: Post-production
Contact: akvilezilionyte@gmail.com